Lucknow: Uttar Pradesh gave the most notable gains to the INDIA alliance with the Samajwadi Party (SP) leading in 38 seats and Congress, 32. The BJP was leading on 32 seats, much lower than the 62 seats it won in 2019.
Akhilesh Yadav’s stock rose dramatically with his SP cutting the ruling BJP down to size in the state. The SP was able to increase its vote share from 18.11 per cent in 2019 to 33.53 per cent. For Congress, the vote share rose from 6.36 per cent to 9.53 per cent. BJP’s vote share shrunk from 49.97 per cent to 41.37 per cent.
The saffron party lost in the crucial Faizabad parliamentary constituency, home to the Ram Temple which was consecrated in January this year. The party also lost the key seat of Amethi, where Union minister Smriti Irani suffered a defeat. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, who contested from neighbouring Rae Bareli constituency, won the seat by a margin more than twice the size by which PM Narendra Modi won his seat in Varanasi.
PNN & Agencies
